Companion Planting

Companion planting is an effective way to keep pests and disease away from your organic garden vegetables without the use of chemicals and pesticides. My husband and I have been experimenting with organic gardening techniques for the past five years, and this has become part of our successful planting strategy.

Companion planting works because certain plants emit strong odors which repel insects or improve the flavor of neighboring vegetables. Others contain disease-fighting properties that strengthen the plants that might otherwise become compromised. And still others may prefer to cohabitate simply because their tendency to grow up, out, or form a vine, compliments the growth preferences of certain other plants.

Flowers and herbs strengthen and protect many varieties of vegetables:

Corn, beans and squash. Native Americans taught the early settlers to plant the "three sisters" in a circular formation. The corn stalk grows in the middle and the squash plants form a circle of low-growing bushes or vines around it. The beans vine their way up the corn stalk, and all three mature together in a mutually beneficial configuration.

According to Leslieland.com, "Corn, being tall and straight, provides support for the beans. Bean vines, being strong and wiry, build a framework around the corn that helps keep it from falling over. The big squash leaves cover the ground, conserving moisture and shading out weeds. And just to put the fudge on the sundae, the beans, being legumes, provide extra nitrogen for the corn and squash."

Tomatoes, basil and parsley. The basil's strong odor wards off aphids and other bugs while improving the flavor of the tomatoes. Keep in mind that the tomatoes will grow much taller than the basil, and so they (the tomatoes) should be planted "behind" the basil (behind, meaning in a more northerly direction). Otherwise, the tomatoes can easily shade out the basil entirely. Parsley is said to be similarly beneficial.